Wisconsin Appeals Court Reinstates Wrongful Death Case

The District 4 Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently cleared the way for a wrongful death lawsuit after a fatal car accident in Wisconsin. The court overturned a previous ruling which now will allow a Wisconsin man to continue to file a wrongful death suit against his former girlfriend's insurer for the death of their unborn child. The child was stillborn after his girlfriend was injured in a car accident. Shannon Tesar, the father of the unborn child killed in the crash, filed suit against the other driver involved in the crash and is also seeking damages as a result of emotional-distress caused by the insurance company.

In the case of Tesar v. Anderson and American Family Mutual Insurance Company, Tesar is suing Brett Anderson, the driver of the vehicle which struck his girlfriend, for the death of his unborn child. The suit stems from a car accident which occurred on Feb. 13, 2003.

The Wisconsin appeals court concluded that "the [initial] trial court erred by granting summary judgment to American Family. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion." The District 4 Court of Appeals overturned the initial decision, which ruled in favor of the insurer, and now allows Tesar to continue his lawsuit against the insurer. The initial ruling, handed down by a Wood County judge, concluded that "a woman has no legal duty to a fetus" and the lawsuit was dismissed.

After the appeals court re-allowed the case to continue, American Family expressed that by allowing this case to continue it will "let fathers sue mothers for other acts that harm fetuses during pregnancy, like eating poorly." The court disagreed with the insurer's claim.